The Lucy Beale storyline is set to be one of the show’s biggest whodunnits (Picture: BBC)

With just a few days until the death of Lucy Beale, interest around EastEnders is building. New details are emerging almost daily and word has it that even the cast member who is playing the killer doesn’t know it’s them.

The whole plot is shaping up to be EastEnders’ most daring whodunnit, but can the soap really pull off a storyline big enough to capture audience’s imaginations for almost a year?

They have definitely set a precedent. The reveal of Archie Mitchell’s killer was hotly anticipated, and not just because the episode was broadcast live.

With the Lucy reveal set to tie in with the soap’s 30th anniversary, we’re looking at another memorable episode.

This time round, EastEnders have gone big. A newly filmed promo is said to throw suspicion on almost every Walford resident.

The public is pinning the crime on everyone from Lucy’s best mate and business partner Lauren Branning, to market inspector Aleks Shirovs.

Could Max have something to do with Lucy’s death (Picture: BBC)

I’ve been letting my imagination run wild (I call it journalism) and about the only family I can’t yet link to Lucy’s death is the Moons.

Aside from ‘whodunnit’, the big question puzzling me is ‘how do they not know they dunnit?’ EastEnders have emphasised that how Lucy dies is as big a mystery as who kills her. But with reports coming in that her body is found dumped on Walford Common (full marks for anyone who can tell me where that is), who is it that dumps her there? Are we looking at more than one person being involved in her death?

As with any good mystery, this one is serving up more questions than it’s answering. Max has just received a compromising photo from an unknown blackmailer and Cindy reveals a secret of Lucy’s that no one else knows about.

Further revelations are set to spill out and producers have chosen Lucy’s dad, Ian Beale, to be the amateur detective that discovers them.

I’m thrilled that EastEnders’ longest serving cast member, Adam Woodyatt, has been given such a strong storyline to get to grips with.

The mystery surrounding Lucy’s death is set to last for a year (Picture: BBC)

For too long he’s played the unlucky in love loser or the slimy businessman. Woodyatt had a brief chance to show us how good an actor he’s always been with Ian’s nervous breakdown, but sadly the humourous site of Beardy Beale the Tramp overshadowed that.

By putting an iconic Walford family firmly at the centre of this whodunnit, producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins is continuing his mission to put families at the heart of EastEnders. In contrast, opening up the whodunnit to such a wide ranging group of characters has ensured plenty of surprising interactions between Albert Square residents, a new and welcome hallmark of the soap.

The complexity of this storyline, both in the relatively short set up time and the intricate reveals that are to come, should ensure the audience stays gripped till the reveal next year.

My only slight worry is that the plot won’t be able to contain enough high quality elements for that long a period. Although, judging by the current quality of writing on EastEnders, that’s one theory of mine that won’t hold up.

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